A Question for You
by hbruce
Summary: Set in Quais de Seine. Francois wants to ask Zarka something, but she has something to tell him.


**This was a project I had to do for school, and I thought I would just post it here.**

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Francois continued to walk with Zarka and her grandfather all the way to the street his house was on.

"This is my street." He said.

Zarka shared a look with her grandfather, and he walked a few steps away, giving the two young people the illusion of privacy.

Francois looked at her, and continued shyly. "Would you like to meet sometime...?"

She laughed quietly. "Yes, I would, very much. How about tomorrow, at the Rim Café on rue St Séverin. Do you know it?"

He thought for a moment, and then continued. "Yes, I do. 11 o'clock?"

She nodded. "Ok. I will see you then. Bye." She walked to meet her grandfather, who took her arm and turned to Francois.

"Goodbye young man." He said to Francois. "I hope we will get to see each other again someday. You are a good man." Zarka looked at Francois with an amused expression, and then pair turned the corner and were gone.

Francois stood there for a moment longer, staring at where they had been. He had felt something with Zarka. He didn't know what, or how strong it was, but he did know one thing: _I want to know her better. I have to. _With that thought, he turned and went into his apartment.

Six Months Later: Francois led Zarka deeper into the aquarium. She had her eyes covered with a bandana, so she didn't see the colourful fish that they hurried past.

"Francois, where are we going?" She questioned for the third time. With the blindfold on, she couldn't tell where they were. All she knew was that Francois was taking her someplace inside the Centre de la Mer et des Eaux. Since she hadn't been there since she was child, she couldn't remember the layout of the building, so she was completely lost. Her disorientation combined with the knot twisting around in her stomach made her feel ill. _I should have told him before hand. It was stupid of me to wait this long. _

"Don't worry." he said soothingly, unaware of her growing distress. "We are almost there. Just be patient."

She scoffed. "In the six months that you have known me, have you ever seen me be patient?"

He laughed, his voice echoing through the strangely empty hall. "I see your point. Would you settle for being guided by your devoted boyfriend?"

Her stomach tightened again at the words 'devoted boyfriend'. _This was a mistake._ "I suppose I have to, don't I." She replied out loud.

"Yes." He said lightly. A few quick moments later, he stopped, pulling Zarka close to him and removing the blindfold from her eyes. "We are here." He whispered into her ear, turning her around.

She gasped at the sight in front of her. The entire wall before her was a huge glass tank. Inside it, bright, tropical fish swam around and through equally bright corals. The entire tank was illuminated by overhead lights, so it really looked like they were under the water.

Zarka turned to Francois, a look of discomfort and confusion on her face. "What are we doing here?" she asked slowly.

He smiled down at her, and she felt ready to burst into tears. "I wanted to give you something." He said.

_I can't put this off any longer._ "Wait." She said. "Do not give me anything. Just listen."

Now he was confused.

"Francois... I am leaving."

He stared at her, shocked. "What?"

She looked guiltily at him. "I am leaving." She repeated. "I am going to America to be a part of an international journalism program."

He tried to stay calm. "When?" was all he managed to say.

Zarka looked right into his eyes. "Tomorrow."

_Crack!_ The sound of his heart breaking. He couldn't speak; he could only wrap his hand around the box in his pocket and grip it tightly.

"I am so sorry." She whispered, reaching up to kissed his cheek and trying to keep her tears hidden. She walked past him towards the entrance, one single tear running down her face.

All he could do was stand and stare ahead of him. A few moments later, he managed to turn around, but she was already gone.

He slowly brought the box out of his pocket. The smooth, green velvet suddenly felt blistering hot in his hand. Out of his other pocket he drew the note. He dropped the note and put the box into his backpack; he couldn`t stand to have it in his pocket anymore.

He turned and walked away while the note fluttered to the ground There were only four small words written on it.

Will you marry me?

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**Well there it is. If anyone reads this, please tell me what you think!**


End file.
